Activity Name: Flower Power Multiplication
Grade:
• 3rd Grade
Subject:
• Math
• Basic Multiplication
What You Need:
• Chalk
• Outdoor space with a flat surface (sidewalk or driveway)
• Notecards
• Markers
What You Do:
1. Get out 10 notecards. Prior to playing the game, write the numbers 1-10 on each notecard.
2. Explain to your child that today you will be playing a fun game using chalk and number cards!
3. Find an outdoor space where you can use chalk (for example, a sidewalk or driveway), and bring out the chalk and notecards.
4. Use colorful chalk to draw a large flower with a circle in the middle and ten petals around the circle. Most children will need some help drawing the flower. Take your time and use different colors.
5. On the outside of each petal, write the numbers 1-10, in a clockwise manner.
6. Shuffle the notecards and place them face down so your child can’t see the number.
7. Ask your child to choose a card. When she sees the number on the card, ask her to write the number in the middle of the flower (the circle).
8. Next, she will multiply the middle number by the numbers outside the petals, starting with number 1. When she figures out the answer, have her fill in the answers directly in the petals. See the photo for an example!
9. If your child needs extra support calculating the answers, encourage her to draw a picture using the chalk. For example, if she is multiplying 9×2, help her draw two rows of nine circles. Then, count the circles together.
10. If your child needs more of a challenge, throw in the numbers 11 and 12, too!
11. Continue this process, drawing separate flowers for each new problem, until you are finished with all the notecards.
12. By the end, your sidewalk or driveway will look like a beautiful mathematical garden!
Once warmer weather finds you, Flower Power Multiplication is a go-to game that can be played at family gatherings and barbecues all spring and summer long. When your child gets a hang of the way it works, she will be explaining the game to others in no time!
Save for later! ♥︎
